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== The Beauty in a Thump //Amy Morrow// Driving up I-70, as Meg heads for some rest and relaxation in the glorious and vast mountains that seem to engulf the speeding cars, she begins to hear a loud thumping noise. Her first thought is, “Just great! Where am I supposed to stop and check the tires, or worse change a flat? In the bitterly cold and unforgiving creek that roars and races along the highway, as if trying to make it to the top of the peak first?” Meg remembers how her father was always trying to teach her the basics of changing a car tire and how she never had time. “I have better things to do, Dad,” Meg would always say. Her dad would always reply, “Someday, someday.” Now Meg had wished that she had stopped and taken the time to learn this important skill. She stops her daydreaming and decides to drive a little further to find a stopping place since the thumping continues to be more frequent. Up ahead of her, she eyes a picnic area access road. Meg slowly begins to apply the brakes of the rental car. As she comes to a stop, she notices that the thumping is becoming louder and is coming in intervals. Meg decides to get out of the car to inspect the shiny wheels of the luxury rental car that is hers for the weekend. The tires are all full of air and no flat tires can be found, so the decision is made to continue heading towards the Spa. Meg climbs into the car out of the sweltering heat, and all of a sudden, THUMP! She looks in the rear view mirror, and to her horror discovers a rather large bump on the trunk that looks “like the beginning of a pitcher’s mound on a baseball field”. The car she is driving is a brand new, shiny, midnight black, two-door 2006 Lexus that is the first in the line of rental cars being offered from Hertz. Meg’s first thought is, “Oh, my god! What is going on? The rental company is going to kill me!” Her thoughts soon move to, “Not only am I upset about the trunk of this very expensive trunk being damaged, but I am scared of what may be in the trunk!” The thoughts are racing rampantly through her mind “like wild untamable horses running through the mountains”. Thoughts of a ferocious black bear foraging through her luggage whiz in her head. If the bear is looking for food, it will be disappointed to find Crest toothpaste and Noxzema face cream. Unless, the bear is a vegetarian, it will not be very satisfied. Then, Meg thinks, “Oh no! If that is all it finds, I will for sure be in big trouble.” Abandonment of the car begins to be considered. Can’t! Won’t! Concern about a black bear, shifts to the possibility of the thing in the trunk being a mountain lion. Meg is in a mountain area and this could be a possibility. She was afraid that if the mysterious thump was a mountain lion that it would pounce at the first sight of her. How could this have happened? Did it crawl in while packing and the viciously, strong wind shut the trunk on the lion? She didn’t want to know or find out. Meg quickly called 911 for help. Soon the rangers and police were at Meg’s side to help her solve the mystery. The rangers ask Meg why she is standing outside on such a hot, sweltering day. Meg replies, “I’m not dumb enough to get in a car with a potentially dangerous animal. I have too much to do and accomplish in life!” The rangers and police try to calm her nerves and tell her that things will be o.k.. Tranquilizer guns and nets are ready for the animal in the trunk to pounce when the trunk is opened. After seeing Meg’s anxiety, the ranger slowly opens the trunk. When the trunk opens, Meg screams a ghastly scream out of fear of what might jump out and turns away from the trunk. Laughter erupts with the rangers and police. The police officer asks Meg, “Ma’m do you happen to sell beauty products?” She replies, “Yes, why do you ask?” The rangers and police reply in unison, “Because your vicious animal turns out to actually be exploded aerosol cans of hair spray and shine spray. The only danger that you were in was the chance of having a can of hairspray catapulted at the back of your head.” As Meg looks inside the trunk, she observes the huge mess of aerosol cans that have exploded in the trunk of the car. The sweltering heat of the day and the change in altitude had caused the contents to explode. So from that day on, the “beauty” never traveled with aerosol cans in the trunk of a car. The story ends on a happy note and the Beauty discovers the “beauty in a thump”!

=Monopolizing Family Time=

Young sons provide.
[|Starfall] is one of my favorite sites for kids.

http://starfall.com

Watch this video and listen to the audio interview of first grade teacher Kathy Cassidy discuss how she uses Web 2.0 tools in her classroom. I've also included links to her classroom blog, wiki, and webpage.

Video Interview http://ideasandthoughts.org/2006/05/19/telling-the-new-storythe-video/

Audio Interview http://tinyurl.com/pwgzm

Mrs. Cassidy's Classroom Blog http://classblogmeister.com/blog.php?blogger_id=1337

Mrs. Cassidy's Classroom Wiki http://room4-wiki.wikispaces.com/

Mrs. Cassidy's Class Webpage [|http://news.mjsd1.ca/%7Ekcassidy/cassidyhome.html]